There's No Place Like Home
by negovanmyass
Summary: Emma is 17 years old entering her final foster home before turning 18. Her foster mother, the kind and alluring Regina, may just make her miss the foster system. One of the rarer SQ fics I haven't seen done much of before. (Regina X Foster Kid Emma). Rated M in case I add adult content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey there, I'm negovanmyass, and thank you for clicking on my fanfiction! This is my first ever shot at swanqueen fanfiction, so be kind and respect my mistakes if I make any!**

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**A summary: So, since this is like one of more rarer fics that you may come across, but I find that this AU is often requested/asked for, but no one has truly done it to this extent. **

**Emma Swan, 17 years old and still navigating her life through each and every foster home she enters and leaves. One day, she meets the beautiful and loving Miss Mills, and immediately her life is changed. Her last 3 months of being in the foster-care system, may just make her miss it. (Regina X Foster Kid Emma)**

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Emma Swan was eager as she sat in the back of her social worker's car, nearly approaching her new foster home. She had been through this process plenty of times, but this time seemed different. She knew this may be the very last foster home she'd ever be housed in beofre she turns 18. Though that thought excites her to be out of the system, it also terrifies her, because she'll be all alone. As the black Honda Accord came to a stop, Emma could feel her pulse quickening within her body.

Everything alway's led up to this very moment. Sometimes meeting the foster family was awesome, and sometimes it was complete chaos. She recalled the time when she was merely 15, and had been placed in a foster home with 12 other children. She walked into that household only bearing a few items, but left completely empty handed. Or the time that she was 11, and she arrived at the foster home, no one was there to greet her, and she was left abandoned in the living room for hours until she was acknoledged for. Emma had thick skin, though. She never left these events truly get to her. They did on occasion, creep into her thoughts at night, but she always pushed them away by thinking about the world and it's beautiful things. She always had to remind herself that more was out there. Other things besides being trapped in an endless loop of foster homes and group homes.

The social worker, a young black haired woman, opened the rear door for Emma to exit. Emma left the vehicle cautiously, her head down at the ground, not making eye contact with the agent. Her anxiety filled her every move as she walked up the sidewalk to the entrance of the house.

From first viewing, the residence was large, white siding, black shudders, colonial columns positioned to support the porch. It was a nice house, nicer than she was used to. She took a breath, and let the agent move forward first, following only a few steps behind. She had no idea what to expect. She knew nothing of this foster family, and was only given short notice about this move. Just last night, she was sleeping with a family called the Hutchinson's. They had 2 sons, Jack and Adam, and a dog named Joey. She liked it there, and it made her sad to think about it.

She was snapped out of her remenicing thoughts when the agent knocked hard on the large white front door. She heard loud footsteps approach the other side of the door, inside the house, and she braced herself for whatever would be on the other side.

The door swung open, and a woman appeared in the opening. She had medium-length brunette hair, olive skin, brown eyes, and a strange vibe that made Emma uncomfortable. She was beautiful, Emma thought. She was so surprised that someone so gorgeous would choose to foster orphans.

"Emma, Meet Miss Mills." The social worker introduced her. Emma gave her a sheepish smile, feeling unsure of herself.

"Hello, Emma, so great to meet you." The brunette finally spoke. Her deep voice sent chills down Emma's spine, and a breath escaped from her lips to accompany it. She stepped inside the house, and the social worker left to gather Emma's things and bring them inside.

The house was in prestine condition, almost like it had never been lived in. White walls, nice furniture, polished hardwood floors, it had everything Emma ever imagined in a mansion. The social worker said goodbye to Emma, and told her she was just a phone call away if she needed anything. A lot of the social workers were like that with Emma. They seemed to feel bad for her, and want to be there for her. She never needed them, though, and she was proud of that.

gave Emma a tour of the house, letting her know everything about it and where to find certain things. She was instantaneously genuine to Emma, and Emma caught that right on. She knew she was being treated differently than she has been treated before, and she didn't know what to make of it. Finally, they reached a bedroom at the end of the hall, and when opened the door, Emma was in awe. The room was spacious, bigger than all the rooms she'd ever stayed in. It had white walls, dark hardwood floors, a queen size bed with white sheets, a large white dresser, a white desk, in fact, most everything was white, with a few splashes of blue here and there. Emma loved it. She looked at , her smile gleaming and eyes showing the most genuine gratitude Emma could fathom.

"Thank you, , I-" "Regina." She interrupted.

"Wh-what?" Emma was confused, what did she mean?

"Call me Regina, dear."

Emma felt that familiar shiver go down her spine again, and she formed a smile trying to make it go away.

"You're really okay with that? I-i've never called any of my foster families by their first names, other than the kids."

"Well, maybe I'm different. I want to give you a chance to see what life is really like in my house. And, Emma, you can trust me, you know? I know we just met but, I really want you to know that." Regina placed a hand on Emma's arm, gives it a light caress with her thumb. Emma's arm jerked at the touch, just because she's not used to be touched that way, and she didn't expect it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" "It's okay, Ms.M…Regina." Regina smiled hearing her own name. She was glad that the blonde could warm up to her, but she knew that she had to take things slow. This was new to her as well, so had to respect that.

Regina left Emma to herself for a while and went downstairs to prepare dinner.

Emma examined all parts of the room. The drawers , the window, the desk, the bathroom attached to it. She was sure there was some sort of catch. She had never been treated this royally before, and when she had, even in the slightest bit, there was always some sort of catch. Could she really trust Regina? Was there something going on that she didn't know about? Emma shrugged off the thought, and decided she just needed to lie down for a bit.

The nap lasted longer than she intended, and she woke a while later to a knock at her door.

"Emma?" A soft voice said through the door. Emma slowly rose from her resting position, and responded tiredly,

"Yes?" "I've just finished dinner, you may come down when you're ready, okay?" "Okay, Thank you." "Let me know if you need anything!" Regina said, and then the sound of heels clicked down the hallway, indicating that she had left. Emma sat in bed a while longer, and then decided she wasn't going to shy away anymore. She looked in the mirror and whispered to herself, "Be grateful for what you have, Swan." And then walked down the hall, and down the stairs. Entering the beautiful modern kitchen, the aroma of the freshly cooked dinner filled her nasal cavity. Regina was at the stove, stirring a pot of what looked like pasta, or maybe mac and cheese. ((thats right folks- the first swan queen fanfic where regina ISN'T cooking lasagna. cause thats just too overused. sorry.))

"You came just in time, the mac and cheese is still warm. Uh, You're not allergic to dairy or gluten are you? I forgot to ask." Regina paused her stirring to make eye contact with the blonde.

"No, I don't have any allergies." Emma specified.

Regina smiled, and then resumed her stirring until removing the pot from the stove and placing it on an anti-heat mat on the counter.

"Be a dear and grab us some plates from that cabinet behind you?"

"Absolutely." Emma responded obligingly. She was so used to there being consequences when she didn't do as she was told, so even in the safe company of Regina, she still had that lingering in her mind. She obtained the two plates and set them in the nearby dining room, along with a few napkins and utensils. As the oldest at most foster homes, Emma would be given tasks like these, and more often than not the father of the house would say something like, "You'll make a fine wife to a nice man one day," or, "Your future children will be lucky to have you as their mother." Emma never responded to the comments. They always made her feel belittled and small. Little did her foster families know, she was gay, and didn't care for men at all, but they never needed to know what.

Emma returned to the kitchen and helped Regina bring the rest of the dining items to the table- a basket of fresh bread, salt and pepper shakers, and the cast-iron skillet of Mac and Cheese.

They sat awkwardly at first, taking their first bites of food into their mouths. Emma didn't know what to say to her new foster mother. They had just met, but she felt like there was a strong connection between them already. She hadn't felt this way since she had Ingrid as her foster mother. But this even, this was different. There was something within Emma that made her so damn attracted to the brunette across the table from her, and she knew it was so wrong, but had no way of fighting it. It was just the two of them in this house for however long, and Emma has never been too good at hiding her feelings.

"Do you like it?" Regina broke the silence, and gestured toward Emma's plate of food.

"It's great, thanks." It really was great, Emma thought. She was used to eating fast food dinners or the leftovers from weeks ago that the foster families had given her. She had to work so hard to ever get offered food like this, yet here she was, barely done anything, and is being treated like a princess right off the bat.

The two women didn't talk much as they ate. Maybe a few questions here and there, but mostly silence. Emma liked that, though. Where she came from, full on debates would take place at the dinner table, and she got tired of that. Here, she could just eat in peace and quiet and not have to worry about taking a side on a topic.

Regina was cautious with the girl. She knew she had to be extra respectful with her, because she was older and knew things more than the smaller children Regina had recently fostered. She wanted Emma to feel safe with her, to show her what a real family is like, even if Regina was a single person. She wanted to give Emma everything she's never had, and more.

After dinner, Emma helped Regina clean up. They did this in silence again, but not awkward silence. It was more of a comfortable silence, that signified the safety of the space. Once they had finished filing in all the dishes into the dish washer, they looked at each other with anticipation for what came next. Regina smiled as a thought came to her head, and she she said to the blonde, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

Emma blushed at the thought of watching a movie..with her. Just the two of them? Emma hadn't been alone with one other person for so long, and it was just now getting to her that this relationship could be…very personal.

"I'd love to." Emma responded softly, trying to hide her roaming thought process. Regina walked behind her toward the living room, and Emma followed closely behind.

They searched through a bunch of DVD's regina had in a cabinet, but found nothing they truly wanted to watch. Regina closed the cabinet and said, "I suppose we could try Netflix."

"You know about Netflix?" Emma asked, but then thought if it was rude to ask. She didn't know how old Regina was, and if she knew anything about what millennials did nowadays.

Regina scoffed, "Of course, Emma, I'm not _that_ old."

Emma liked how Regina said her name. Each time she said it, she'd repeat it in her head. _Emma. Emma. Emma. _

Most people called her Swan or Miss Swan from the foster homes, so hearing her own name was comforting.

Regina sat down on the couch directly in front of the tv and kicked her feet up onto the small coffee table in front of it. Emma looked at her for a second, and then looked around the room at the other chairs, determining where she should place herself.

"Emma," Regina said, making Emma make eye contact with her, "You can sit next to me if you like. I don't bite." Regina's warm smile was enough to convince her to sit down. Emma sat about a foot away from the brunette, afraid of being too close for comfort. Regina turned on the TV and turned to Netflix, where she began scrolling through the options.

They settled on watching The Hunger Games, which was one of Emma's favorite books as a young child. Each move that Regina made throughout the movie made her heart skip a beat. Every itch or scratch. Every adjustment. Emma stayed still, Completely still, throughout the duration of the movie, and she knew she'd regret the cramps she'd get later on. In Regina's head, everything was fine. She was so glad that Emma was comfortable enough to sit down and watch a movie with her. She looked at her a few times throughout the movie, saw her green eyes glint with light as the scenes changed on the screen. Emma never looked back at Regina. It would be too hard. Regina did find the girl to be beautiful, but she wasn't thinking like that at all just yet. She had a troubled past with relationships, men and women, and wasn't ready to pursue anyone yet, especially a foster child. She knew better than to let her desires get ahead of her.

Once the movie ended, Emma snapped out of her statue state, and got up from her seat. Regina lightly touched her hand as she walked by her, causing Emma to stop in her tracks.

"Emma, I just want to say that I'm really proud of you for being so comfortable with me. I know how hard these transitions can be. I really can't wait to get to know more about you." Regina stared into Emma's green eyes, and Emma stared back, with the same amount of hope and joy.

"Thank you, Regina. Goodnight." Emma said, and then Regina let go of her hand so she could go upstairs.

Emma was so captivated by Regina, she didn't know what to make of it. Why was the woman so charming and caring? What about her did Emma seem to grasp onto? Emma went into her bathroom and got herself ready for bed. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, put her hair up, etc. She finally slid into the comfy sheets of her bed, and sighed deeply. This was her home now. She was so amazed with all that Regina was offering her, but found it too good to be true. She fell asleep slowly,but slept well that night.

Regina, after the movie, decided to go to her study to read. She had read a lot at night, due to her terrible insomnia. She was up until 1 AM this night, reading Emma by Jane Austen, and was seemingly captivated by the character of Harriet, who for some reason reminded Regina of Emma. Once Regina finished a few pages of her book, She went up to her room and prepared herself to sleep. She had a hard time falling asleep every night, but this night, was worse. All that was on her mind was that beautiful blonde a few rooms away from her. She wanted to keep her safe from harm. Wanted to be the best person to her. She was so worried that she would be too much. She spent the night questioning herself, until she night took over, and she fell asleep around 3 AM.

**A/N- Ahhhh thank so much for reading! I am so excited to continue this story and see where it goes. It is my first SQ fanfic, so if I made any mistakes, I'm sorry, and I hope I improve along the way. I intend on making this a multi-chapter fic, slow-burning until finally, I have the two together, but of course, we must lead up to that. I hope you stay and continue to read as I continue to write, but again, thank you. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in over a month. Things got super busy in my personal life right after publishing the first chapter. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet and I definitely plan on taking this story places. Please, be patient, and enjoy chapter 2!**

**Chapter 2**

Emma woke up the next morning and immediately realized where she was. She was confused for a second, and then remembered Regina and what had happened yesterday. She assumed Regina had already gone to work at this point, and since it was summer, Emma didn't have to go to school. She got out of bed and hopped into the shower to start her day. This was still so new to her- not having to fight anyone over a shower, or being awoken too early because of all the noise, or something else. The peace and quiet of the lone mansion was eerie enough to her. But, she was grateful for it.

She dressed herself in simple jeans and a t-shirt and then went down to the kitchen to explore the seemingly endless pantry of food. She never had much of a food choice, and rarely had home cooked food, so she stuck to what she knew. Cereal.

After eating, she was faced with boredom. Nothing to do here while Regina was gone, and she didn't even know when she would return either. The clock read 10 AM, so Emma decided that she could just go for a run around the neighborhood, familiarize herself with it, maybe even meet a friend. Not that she was any good at making friends, she'd only had one real friend in the foster system, and they were separated shortly after meeting and establishing friendship.

Emma changed into leggings and kept the same t-shirt on for her run. It lasted around 50 minutes, and the weather was perfect for it. Cloudy skies with 70 degree weather and a light breeze.

For the rest of the day, Emma read some books that she discovered in Regina's library. She didn't even know if she was allowed inside, but she was just too curious to not go in. Regina's office was so organized, it was like a model of a room, not even an actual room. She must be a perfectionist of some sort. Regina worked in the town office building, some sort of political job that Regina didn't specify, but frankly, Emma didn't care to know. Whatever it was, she was sure Regina was a master at it.

At around 4 PM, the front door opened, and the sound of heels clicked on the floor into the kitchen.

"Emma, dear? You here?" Regina's kind voice called out. Emma smiled just from hearing it. She didn't know why the woman was so comforting to her.

"Yes, I'm here." Emma responded, making her way down the steps and meeting Regina in the kitchen.

"Good! How was your day? I forgot to mention that I work from 8 am to 4 pm Monday-Thursday and then on Fridays, I work 8 am to 3 pm." "I'm good, I hope you had a good work day." "It went well, thank you for asking. Do you want to make plans for dinner or..?" Emma looked away from her for a moment. She was never given choices like this before.

"Whatever you'd like to do, I'll like it too." She responded.

Regina smirked and whispered, "You don't always have to agree with me, you know?" The whisper sent shivers up her spine to her hair, ever so slightly lifting it off her skin.

"I- i know." Regina swooped behind her, "I have to do some work in my office, after that we will discuss our options, sound alright?" "Sounds alright to me."

Regina went into her office, happy that the girl hadn't runaway while she was gone. She diligently finished her work in about an hour, and promptly returned to the kitchen to call Emma down once more.

Emma returned to the kitchen, and met eyes with Regina.

"What's the plan stan?" Emma asked, wondering if it was a little too quirky of a line to say. Regina quirked a brow and said,

"There's a really great diner in town I want you to try, only if you'd like."

"Sounds great to me!"

"ready to go now?" Regina asked, eagerly wanting to take Emma out for dinner for the first time (or she assumed) with no body else.

Emma hesitated for a second, and then thought, why the hell not? "Absolutely." "Great! Let me grab my purse and we'll be on our way." Emma stepped into the black Mercedes and was mesmerized by it's luxury and elegance. She had never sat in a nice car before, only at car shows if a family brought her to one, but never one that she'd be able to ride in.

"What?" Regina asked, noticing Emma's slight anxiety.

"Just never been in a car like this." Regina chucked, "It's just like any other car, except, maybe a bit faster, and a lot more comfy." Emma smiled, "I like it."

Regina drove off, the short 4 minute drive down the road to the diner. They parked and went inside to get a table.

"Would you like a booth, table, or counter top today?" The hostess asked.

Regina turned to Emma, "Whatever you want."

"A booth, please." Emma responded. They took a seat in the booth, Regina facing the back of the diner and Emma facing the front door.

"Granny's Diner, huh?" Emma said, reading the title from the menu.

"it's delicious, don't let it deceive you."

"I'm just surprised someone so sophisticated like you would come to eat here." Regina quirked a brow, "not sure if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult?" Emma laughed, "Hopefully a compliment."

The waiter came to take their orders. Emma ordered a cheeseburger with fries and Regina ordered a regular old Garden Salad.

Regina was overjoyed that the girl was comfortable going out to eat with her, only her first few days living with her. It made her extremely proud. She didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do, obviously.

"So..tell me what you like to do for fun, huh?" Regina began the conversation over dinner.

"I go for runs. I paint. I write. Read. Really anything, I suppose." "Did you play any sports in school?"

"Softball and Basketball, but, obviously no summer sport." "You any good?" Emma chuckled, "One of the best on both teams. Better at basketball though. Been playing since I was 5 or so." "That's amazing, Emma. I'd love to see you play if I ever get the chance."

Emma wast stunned by that. She'd really want to see her play a sport? Support her? no one had ever supported Emma. She played for herself, not for anyone else, but if Regina came, would that change things?

Regina was worried that Emma hadn't responded to that.

"Uh, only if you'd want me to, dear, I'd never push it."

"Yeah, I get it. No, It would be nice to finally have a supporter for once."

They talked more about Emma's school career and her favorite subjects and all that. By the end of dinner, Regina drove them home, and soon enough they were back at home, taking off their shoes at the door.

"Emma." Regina called, seeing Emma walk toward he stairs.

"Yeah?" Emma turned around.

"I know it's a little late but, would you like to watch some TV with me? Only for a little bit?" Regina's plea made Emma soft inside. She had to agree, no matter how tired she was. Regina and her sat on the couch, a few feet apart. They had separate blankets for themselves as they watched a few episodes of Criminal Minds on TV, one of Regina's favorite shows.

Emma found herself drifting off shortly, and soon enough fell asleep. Her body fell toward Regina, and accidentally rested against her. Regina was surprised and whispered, "Emma?" but the blonde did not respond, as, she was fast asleep.

Regina smiled to herself and shut off the tv. She layed there with the blonde for a while, just staring off into space, enjoying the company of another person. She saw that the time read 11 PM, and she ought to go to bed. Regina carefully removed herself from Emma's presence, and placed her head on a pillow to sleep on. She walked upstairs to her own bed and fell asleep there, thinking of what possibly could happen between her and Emma, if anything at all.

It has been a few weeks since Emma has been living with Regina. She has adjusted quite well, and the two have grown closer each day. They have established a sort of routine at this point. They go out for breakfast on Sundays, cook dinner together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, go for jogs together a few times a week, and they have movie nights on Fridays. They act like best friends, or even a married couple, even though neither of them have harvested their feelings for each other yet.

It was now July, and the days got hotter, and more lonely for Emma each day Regina was gone at work. She almost began to rely on her. Counted down the hours until she came home. Missed her when she was gone. Longed for the weekends, when she had Regina for the whole day. It was an interesting dependency that she was not used to nor comfortable with

Regina came home at 4 PM. it was Thursday, meaning they were gonna cook together, which always excited Regina. She loved teaching Emma new cooking skills, how to combine ingredients to get a certain taste, etc.

Tonight, they were making baked chicken with grilled asparagus, one of Emma's favorite meals that Regina has cooked for her. Each time they cooked together, they wore adorable matching aprons.

"okay, so we preheat the oven to around 350 degrees." Regina demonstrated.

"okay, okay." Emma paid close attention to each instruction she was given.

"And now, we season our defrosted Chicken breasts. I like to use a blend of pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and some other secret spices I cannot tell you." "Why not?" Emma whined. "Cause they're secret ingredients!" Regina laughed.

They both seasoned the chicken breasts on both sides, and then placed them onto the baking sheet and put them into the oven. "These will cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your breasts." Emma laughed.

"Breasts." Regina did not look amused, "hey hey, no funny business, missy."

"Now for the asparagus," She removed the asparagus spikes from the bag they were held in, and laid them out of the cutting board, "I like to cut them each in half, right across, just so they're not so long and difficult to eat or cook." "Seems logical." Emma added.

Once they were done with that, they season the asparagus, and Regina showed Emma how to 'grill' the asparagus simply using a stovetop and the right pan.

Emma was mesmerized at Regina's skill at cooking, and was more than happy to learn from her.

Once dinner was ready, the two sat down and ate the meal they created themselves.

"This is really fantastic," Emma said, "Like, really great stuff." "Yes, it is, thank you."

"I like cooking with you, Regina." Emma said, flat out, not holding back at all.

Regina looked at her, blank faced at first, her mind a little shocked at the statement, Then, she processed it and smiled, "I like cooking with you, Emma." They resumed eating, and making dinner conversation. At the end, they cleaned up and prepared to watch another movie, this time, Jaws.

Emma wasn't a fan of horror movies, and upon beginning the movie, she whispered to regina, "I'm a little scared." "you-..you can hold onto me if you want." Regina offered, taking the first step toward being even slightly intimate with each other.

"I may take you up on that, if I need," Emma said. It's not that she didn't want to, but she was just caught in the moment, and wasn't ready to do something like that with Regina quite yet. She didn't even know if Regina liked her, all she knew was that, Regina was gorgeous, and she was having terribly inappropriate thoughts about her.

The next few days were same old, went by quickly and not much happened. Regina went to work, Emma stayed home. On this day, Emma decided to walk to Granny's and get herself some lunch at around 12:30 PM. She and Regina came to this restaurant often, but she had never gone by herself.

Entering the diner, she spotted an empty seat at the counter, and sat down there. The usual waitress, Ruby, greeted her and took her order.

"Emma! Where's Regina today?" "At work. I was hungry so I came here by myself." "Good choice. What can I get you?" Emma grazed the menu and then decided. "A cheeseburger please, with fries." "I'll get that right up. Nice to see you, Emma!" She said before disappearing into the kitchen, most likely to go put the order in.

All that was left to do was wait. Or go on her phone. But, Emma wasn't a phone person. She only used it for texting or calling her foster parents or siblings when she needed them, but she didn't have any social media, only a few games to play when she was transferring to different families/houses.

Soon enough, the food came, and she was satisfied of hunger. Emma decided that after she finished her food and paid, she would go to the docks in town and sit by the water to think.

And so, that's exactly what she did. Here, she found solace and peace. The sound of the waves hitting the boats and the dock were enough to soothe any invasive thoughts she had. She thought about a lot here, and it helped with her constant urges to run away. She honestly felt like it'd be so easy with Regina, to run away while she was at work. But, something deep deep down stopped her.

She liked Regina.

She could never do that to her. She wouldn't be able to live with the pain of leaving without saying goodbye or without notice. Regina was different to Emma, different in so many ways, and she was so worth it to just stay and see. See what happens. Emma had concluded on her feelings for her foster mother just a few weeks ago, but now each time she thought of them, she felt disgusted in herself. She never thought it'd happen- catching feelings for someone who takes you in- but it did. Now she was left to deal with it, and hopefully conceal it as best she could.


End file.
